The Charterhouse of Parma
by Stendhal · La Chartreuse de Parme
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1839
- Form
- Novel
- Language
- French
- Length
- Long · 500 pp300 to 700 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Charterhouse of Parma, translated by Richard HowardModern Library, 1999A vigorous modern translation; Margaret Mauldon's Oxford version is the alternative.
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Fabrizio del Dongo, a young Lombard aristocrat, runs off to fight for Napoleon and wanders lost across the field of Waterloo without understanding what he sees. Back in Italy his aunt Gina, the Duchess Sanseverina, and her lover Count Mosca, the prime minister of the little court of Parma, manoeuvre to advance him in the Church. Fabrizio kills a man in a brawl, is imprisoned in the Farnese tower and there falls in love with Clelia, the governor's daughter. Stendhal dictated the novel in seven weeks.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Charterhouse of Parma are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
